Thanks to the invitation from the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Mr. Wang Junjie will share Hong Kong’s sustainable pearl development with everyone at the Hong Kong July-August Jewelry Show.

The theme is: Say "I do" to the Earth - Why choose sustainable pearls

What do you think of when you think of the topic "sustainable pearl development"? New pearl technology? New pearl varieties? In fact, pearls are always pearls. They are grown in shellfish from different waters over time and are one of the most ancient natural gemstones since the existence of human beings.

"Sustainable Pearls" is actually based on two concepts - "sustainable development" and "cultured pearls". "Sustainable Pearls" first appeared at the 2014 Hong Kong Jewelry Show. Hong Kong, as the world's largest pearl trading port, held the first Sustainable Pearls Seminar. At that time, the most powerful pearl farmers and other scientists from different countries were invited to share. Each expert and connoisseur shared many stories about their cultured pearls and scientific analysis of the impact of pearl culture on the marine environment. Suddenly, my mind seemed to open up and I found that pearls are not just natural gems. This is how I began to understand what sustainable development is.

pearl

Every time before I share about pearls in different occasions, I will do a simple survey. I will ask everyone what pearls remind them of? Or what feelings they can give them. Some people will describe it, such as: round, shiny, noble; some people will say four-character idioms, such as: round and smooth, like pearls, like treasures, old and yellow; some people will say the names of some officials or celebrities; if you are a person of faith, you may also know that pearls represent different things, including truth, purity, wisdom, wealth, and even a door; the most classic one is "pearl milk tea".

relation

In the past, I have done a lot of research on how people from different cultures and eras felt about pearls, and I found that there were slight differences in different eras and cultures. If we were to describe the traditional relationship between ancient people and pearls, it would make people feel like the marriages of high officials and nobles in ancient China, which were full of transactional nature. One bought and one sold, each taking what they needed, and simply thinking about their own interests. For example: ancient emperors or rich people would use them to show off or give gifts. Even in the last century, it still felt like a normal transaction.

Over the past decade, I have seen some changes. The actual demand for pearls in the market has increased, and the thirst for knowledge about pearls has also increased. Customers want to know how to judge high-quality pearls, where they are produced, and the story of how pearls grew. As customers learn more about pearls, they have higher requirements for pearl styles and cost-effectiveness, and everyone will be more cautious.

Pearls used to be mysterious, but now you can find a lot of relevant information just by going online, and there are more choices than before.
Speaking of this, it is a bit like a man chasing a woman or a woman chasing a man. During the pursuit, they will find that there are many choices out there, and it seems that the more they look, the better the choice will be. I don’t know if this is a good thing.
Anyway, the general trading of pearl jewelry may not be able to meet the needs of today's customers. Because I found that today's customers not only need to know what they want to buy, but I also found that foreign and even some Hong Kong consumers will go shopping with a little sense of mission. This sense of mission will also deepen the meaning behind the purchase of pearl jewelry. It is not just a general money transaction, but may be related to one's own values.

Dating

My girlfriend was willing to choose me at that time, which meant that she saw something in me. What did she see in me? I suggest you ask her directly if you have a chance. One thing that is certain is that we have similar values ​​​​about family.

As the relationship develops deeper, many of our friends get married at the same time. We chat with them and show off our happiness. We also learn a lot from chatting with our seniors. In addition to "marriage is the grave of love", "communication is more important" or "marriage is a long-lasting relationship", we also learn to understand each other more from different perspectives, and go deep into discovering the imperfections of each other. We have also heard that "love is blind", even if the other person is a little ugly, love can cover everything. Sometimes we also have to learn to "turn a blind eye". Just like an imperfect and flawed pearl, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If someone loves it, there is no need to explain. Some people rely on designers to help the pearl cover up its ugliness and turn decay into magic.

When we held a workshop at the pearl farm in Sai Kung, Hong Kong, each participant would personally open a pearl oyster to find their own pearl. The pearls they saw were varied and original, in their unprocessed state. One of the participants opened a pearl oyster and found a pearl that even my colleagues and I thought was not pretty. I wanted to help her exchange it for a beautiful pearl, but she said, "No! This is the pearl I found. It's from my baby!" I didn't explain, and she made the jewelry herself.

This is a Hong Kong pearl I harvested in my first year in Hong Kong. It has two ears sticking out, like a cat. My wife loves Hello Kitty, so although this pearl is of poor quality, I really want to give it to her. Then I found a designer to help me make an 18K Hello Kitty pearl pendant for her.
Because of tolerance, we are also willing to accept everything about each other.
When two lives gradually become closer, of course, they talk about marriage. We found that marriage is no longer a matter of two people, but is related to two families, our past, relatives and friends, and social circles of both sides. More importantly, we learn how to make two lives a community of destiny.

Community of Shared Future

When talking about a community with a shared future, people may think of "being in the same boat", just like the epidemic in the past two and a half years, which has affected the whole world and no one is spared.
The epidemic prevention policies set by various governments directly affect the economic lifeline of the entire earth.

Here is another example. Where there is a sea, there is ecology, and ecology breeds life, including shellfish and fish. Shellfish breed pearls, and fish have their own world of the survival of the fittest. People go fishing, or use pearls to make different jewelry.

Then, fishing will become fishery farming, and pearl diving will become pearl farming.
Then different areas of expertise developed.
People earn what they need from it to support themselves and their families.

When the ocean is polluted and damaged, if something happens to one part, the others will be affected.
In the past few years, freshwater clams have been dying in large numbers in different parts of the world for unknown reasons.
In the past three years, changes in the seawater environment in Japan have caused the death of all BB oysters, which has directly affected the production and price of Japanese pearls.

We have noticed some changes in the pearl market over the past few years. This change can be seen in the questions and conversations we have with our customer base.
In addition to "what makes a good pearl" and "where do pearls come from", they will ask about the origin of the pearls, how the breeders treat their employees, or the relationship between cultured pearls and seawater, etc.
In addition to wanting to learn more about pearls, customers also want to ensure that the products they purchase have consistent ideas and even have a positive impact.
Today's young customers know that their purchasing power comes with social influence and responsibility.

So, since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, we have heard more and more words such as corporate social responsibility and environmental conservation.
Recently, in addition to technological terms such as Blockchain, NFT, and Metaverse, "sustainable development" is a keyword that has appeared more and more frequently.
There are more and more discussions, actions and concerns related to sustainable development.